Sink or Swim

I'm not much of a swimmer. I used to be when I was a kid. Not the greatest even then, but I used to swim. I think I might have even certified in swimming, if there is such a thing.

Somewhere between elementary or junior high, however, I decided that I did not like swimming and never wanted to swim again. I don't know why. It might have been because of a bad experience. I don't remember. Maybe it was just a poor attempt to claim that I am growing up and no longer like swimming, if there is such a strange connection between swimming and not growing up. Most likely, I just no longer fit my swim suit and did not want to go in search for another.

It has been YEARS since I have been swimming. When my sister invited me to come and visit her in Arizona, she said it was unacceptable to not swim. She would toss me in the pool if it came to it. Upon hearing that, I decided that I would either have to sink or swim.

I chose to swim.

My other sister and I went on a quest to find the perfect swim suit. Amazingly enough, we found one. (I say that glibly, but it really was quite a quest.) When I got to Arizona, my sister and her husband called to me to go swimming with them. I put on my swim suit, put on some sun screen and headed to the pool. My sister handed me a floaty, and I got in the pool.

And I swam. I liked it, once I got in there. Also, believe it or not, I jumped off the diving board--- more than once! And shhhh... I even let go of the floaty a couple times. I wouldn't say that I am the best swimmer in the world, but at least I like swimming again. At least I got in the water and tried.

I think going to Australia will be like this. I will have to choose to "sink or swim" when I get there. I'm not saying that I am literally going to have to swim when I get there. (In fact, quite oppositly. I don't expect to go swimming at all.) But I am saying that I am going to need a little courage to be a missionary in Australia. There will be a choice to either chicken out and fail, or be brave and succeed. I choose the latter.